Methods for firmware signature

ABSTRACT

A method for installing embedded firmware is provided. The method includes generating one or more firmware file instances and generating one or more digital certificate instances that are separate instances from the firmware file instances. The method includes associating the one or more digital certificate instances with the one or more firmware file instances to facilitate updating signature-unaware modules with signature-aware firmware or to facilitate updating signature-aware modules with signature-unaware firmware.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The claimed subject matter relates generally to industrial controlsystems and more particularly to systems and methods that facilitatesecure updates of embedded firmware by isolating cryptographicinformation from binary instances of the firmware.

BACKGROUND

Modern electronic devices often employ embedded firmware that mayperiodically need updated as features are enhanced or device problemscorrected. Examples of such devices include consumer products such asMP3 players as well as industrial control devices such as programmableautomation controllers. When updating firmware in a device, it isimportant to verify that the firmware is valid for the device and hasbeen created by the manufacturer (e.g., it is not rogue or counterfeitfirmware). Also, the respective firmware should be verified so as not tohave been tampered with or corrupted. This is particularly important forindustrial control systems, where use of invalid, corrupted or otherwisecompromised firmware can result in denial of service to the applicationor at worst unpredictable or dangerous operation. For instance, anattacker could modify a firmware image such that it would render adevice unusable, or could modify a firmware image by injecting maliciouscode that could cause the device to operate in an unsafe manner.

One method to facilitate secure operations of firmware is to employpublic and private keys for cryptography. The distinguishing techniqueused in public key cryptography is the use of asymmetric key algorithms,where the key used to encrypt a message is not the same as the key usedto decrypt the respective message. Each user has a pair of cryptographickeys—a public key and a private key. The private key is kept secret,while the public key may be widely distributed. Messages are encryptedwith the recipient's public key and can only be decrypted with thecorresponding private key. Digital signatures are a message signed witha sender's private key and can be verified by anyone who has access tothe sender's public key.

In relation to industrial control systems, a problem arises when tryingto determine how to update firmware on differing classes of devices in asecure manner (e.g., older versus newer devices having differingfirmware capabilities). Some devices have been in operation for yearsand may have no knowledge regarding how to process the above-describedencryption techniques including public keys and signatures. Forinstance, with existing firmware—that which is already released forexisting devices may not be signature aware. Thus, a problem exists onhow existing modules can be updated with signed, signature-awarefirmware in a secure manner. If a trouble-shooting scenario exists wherea user needs to revert to older firmware, another problem arises in howa module can be “securely” downgraded to unsigned firmware. Still yetother problems include how can existing unsigned firmware be verifiedfor integrity and how can signature-aware production firmware accept adebug or development build that is unsigned. To date, simple checksumprocedures have typically been employed for security but there is a needfor a more secure mechanism such as public and private key exchanges.Clearly, there is a need for encryption techniques to be applied toelectronic firmware update procedures in industrial control systems yetto date, no methods have been developed to address the problem ofbackwards compatibility with modules that may not have the underlyingsoftware capabilities to process advanced encryption technologies.

SUMMARY

The following summary presents a simplified overview to provide a basicunderstanding of certain aspects described herein. This summary is notan extensive overview nor is it intended to identify critical elementsor delineate the scope of the aspects described herein. The sole purposeof this summary is to present some features in a simplified form as aprelude to a more detailed description presented later.

Systems and methods are provided to facilitate secure updating ofindustrial control system hardware and components while providing a pathfor upgrading and/or downgrading module firmware that may not becompatible with the most current security procedures. This includesgenerating firmware binaries that are separate from the underlyingdigital certificates that are employed during download of the respectivebinaries. Firmware that employs multiple images or components canutilize certificates for each component, where certificates include alist of hardware revisions for which the firmware is valid. Existing,signature-unaware firmware can be updated with signature-aware firmwareby sending the new firmware binary without the certificate.Signature-aware firmware can be updated with unsigned firmware asneeded, e.g., for debug/development by sending the binary without thecertificate (e.g., subject to certain constraints such as requiringlocal access to the module). Certificates can be created forpreviously-released, unsigned firmware, without modifying the existingfirmware, where software tools can then verify the integrity of thefirmware using the certificate. In previous methods, there was noseparation between certificate and binary, where digital certificateswere a created as a portion of the binary file that operated therespective modules. For new modules, this technique would provide asecure update procedure yet older modules would have no manner in whichto process new security procedures during download so the only optionwould be to replace such modules before downloading which would be costprohibitive.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the followingdescription and annexed drawings set forth in detail certainillustrative aspects. These aspects are indicative of but a few of thevarious ways in which the principles described herein may be employed.Other advantages and novel features may become apparent from thefollowing detailed description when considered in conjunction with thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a system for generatingfirmware signatures in an industrial control process.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an example firmware signatureprocess.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example digital certificate.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example firmware signatureprocess.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example firmware integritycomponent.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example key management and signature generationprocess.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example build procedure for generating separatebinary files and certificates.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example firmware update procedure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods are provided for utilizing digital signatures in accordance withindustrial control system firmware downloads. In one aspect, a methodfor installing embedded firmware is provided. The method includesgenerating one or more firmware file instances and generating one ormore digital certificate instances that are separate instances from thefirmware file instances. The method includes associating the one or moredigital certificate instances with the one or more firmware fileinstances to facilitate updating signature-unaware modules withsignature-aware firmware or to facilitate updating signature-awaremodules with signature-unaware firmware.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a system 100 is illustrated forgenerating firmware signatures in an industrial control process. Thesystem 100 includes a development platform and download tool 110 (alsoreferred to as platform) that generates one or more firmware binaryfiles 120 and one or more digital certificates 130 that are separateinstances from the binary files yet associated with the respectivebinaries for later secure downloading. The firmware binaries 120 (e.g.,boot code, runtime code, file system code, web pages, applets,configuration, user programs, and so forth) can be for substantially anytype of component that can be found in an industrial environmentincluding controllers, servers, clients, input/output modules,communications modules, and other electronic devices capable of havingfirmware that is downloadable across a network. The platform generatesone or more public and private keys 140 in addition to the digitalcertificates. As shown, hardware revision information 150 can be encodedinto the certificates 130 as will be described in more detail below.

For modules that have been developed under signature processingprinciples—referred to as signature-aware modules 160, firmware binaries120 along with separate instances of digital certificates 130 can beloaded on the modules in a secure manner. For older modules—referred toas signature-unaware modules 170, the firmware binaries can be directlyloaded without the corresponding digital certificates which can beloaded via a local update procedure or tool at 180. For example,feedback mechanisms (e.g., I/O inputs) can de detected to ensure a userhas physical access to a given industrial component before allowingupdate of the firmware binary and validating against a locally generatedcertificate. After updates have occurred locally, remote procedures canoccur in the future as the module will now have signature-awarecapability. General purpose firmware update tools can be employed thatprocess the certificate like other firmware binaries, thus the toolneeds no particular knowledge of how to process the certificate.

In general, the system 100 enables secure updating of industrial controlsystem hardware and components while providing a path for upgradingand/or downgrading module firmware that may not be compatible with themost current security procedures. This includes generating firmwarebinaries 120 that are separate from the underlying digital certificates130 that are employed during download of the respective binaries.Firmware that employs multiple binary instances 120 can utilize at leastone digital certificate 130 for each instance, where certificatesinclude a list of hardware revisions 150 for which the firmware isvalid. Existing, signature-unaware firmware can be updated withsignature-aware firmware by sending the new firmware binary without thecertificate at 170. Signature-aware firmware can be updated withunsigned firmware as needed, e.g., for debug/development by sending thebinary without the certificate (e.g., subject to certain constraintssuch as requiring local access to the module). Certificates 130 can becreated for previously-released, unsigned firmware, without modifyingthe existing firmware, where software tools at 180 can then verify theintegrity of the firmware using the certificate. In previous methods,there was no separation between certificate and binary, where digitalcertificates 130 were a created as a portion of the binary file thatoperated the respective modules. For new modules, this technique wouldprovide a secure update procedure yet older modules would have no mannerin which to process new security procedures during download so oneoption would be to replace such modules before downloading which wouldbe cost prohibitive. Another option would be to build an additional(unsigned) firmware binary whose purpose is to update an older module tobe signature aware. It may be more desirable to create one version ofthe firmware then have the certificate be separate.

As noted, the system 100 allows multiple binaries 120 and acorresponding certificate 130 for each binary. For example, onecertificate for boot code, one certificate for runtime code, onecertificate for file system. This method can also be extended to otherupdatable entities such as user programs, for example. The system caninclude use of a secure boot-load mechanism that allows securedowngrading to older signature-unaware firmware. In another example, adevice partitions firmware into “boot code” and “application code,”where boot code is signature-aware. Application code may be signatureaware (new code), or unaware (existing code). When the device starts,the boot code verifies the signature of the application code (boot codeshould be able to access the signature of the application code). Ifvalid, the application code can then run. Downgrading to signatureunaware application code involves calculating a signature for the oldapplication code and storing it such that the boot code can access itand then updating the device with the old application code. In thismanner, the boot code can determine that the old application code was infact produced by the manufacturer and has not been corrupted.

In an alternative aspect, when the system 100 is implemented in acontroller for example, the public key can be stored outside of thefirmware image (outside of the boot and outside of the runtime). As canbe appreciated, every module does not have to store the key in thismanner, and this is not an essential part of the mechanism, but isanother enhancement/option for some modules. This has the benefit ofallowing developers to change the public key independent of the firmwareif needed. For example, one key can be employed for development buildsand another for when the firmware is publicly released. Should theprivate key ever be compromised or lost, developers could update thepublic the key on a module and still be able to use the old firmware,because the key as stored in the module would be decoupled from theactual firmware itself.

In another aspect, the system supports a method for installing embeddedfirmware. This includes generating one or more firmware file instancesand generating one or more digital certificate instances that areseparate instances from the firmware file instances. This also includesassociating the one or more digital certificate instances with the oneor more firmware file instances to facilitate updating signature-unawaremodules with signature-aware firmware or to facilitate updatingsignature-aware modules with signature-unaware firmware. The methodincludes loading the digital certificate instances from a tool thatprocesses the digital certificate instances in the same manner as thefirmware file instances (e.g., the tool process the digital certificatesas merely another binary instance).

The method includes employing a secure boot load tool to allow signatureunaware firmware to be securely loaded. This includes employing feedbackmechanisms to ensure that a user has physical access to a module inorder to update signature unaware firmware. This can also includeloading signature-aware modules with unsigned firmware in order tofacilitate debug of the modules while also employing feedback mechanismsto ensure that a user has physical access to a module in order to updatesignature unsigned firmware. The method includes associating separatecertificates with multiple binaries in order to sign different portionsof firmware, where the certificate includes a component to identify oneor more hardware revisions supported by signed firmware. The method alsoincludes creating a certificate for unmodified firmware and verifyingfirmware integrity via an update tool and running older versions offirmware through a signing utility and verifying at least one signatureagainst a binary before loading. This may also include employing a proxymodule to run the signing utility or verify the at least one signature.The proxy module would intercept requests to update firmware in asignature-unaware target module, and would verify the certificateagainst the firmware to be loaded on the target module. If thecertificate and firmware are valid, the proxy would then pass thefirmware (but not certificate) to the target module.

It is noted that components associated with the industrial controlsystem 100 can include various computer or network components such asservers, clients, controllers, industrial controllers, programmablelogic controllers (PLCs), energy monitors, batch controllers or servers,distributed control systems (DCS), communications modules, mobilecomputers, wireless components, control components and so forth that arecapable of interacting across a network. Similarly, the term controlleror PLC as used herein can include functionality that can be sharedacross multiple components, systems, or networks. For example, one ormore controllers can communicate and cooperate with various networkdevices across the network. This can include substantially any type ofcontrol, communications module, computer, I/O device, sensors, HumanMachine Interface (HMI) that communicate via the network that includescontrol, automation, or public networks. The controller can alsocommunicate to and control various other devices such as Input/Outputmodules including Analog, Digital, Programmed/Intelligent I/O modules,other programmable controllers, communications modules, sensors, outputdevices, and the like.

The network can include public networks such as the Internet, Intranets,and automation networks such as Control and Information Protocol (CIP)networks including DeviceNet and ControlNet. Other networks includeEthernet/IP, DH/DH+, Remote I/O, Fieldbus, Modbus, Profibus, wirelessnetworks, serial protocols, and so forth. In addition, the networkdevices can include various possibilities (hardware or softwarecomponents). These include components such as switches with virtuallocal area network (VLAN) capability, LANs, WANs, proxies, gateways,routers, firewalls, virtual private network (VPN) devices, servers,clients, computers, configuration tools, monitoring tools, or otherdevices.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a block diagram illustrates an example firmwaresignature process 200. At 210, a normal binary file is created. At 220,a digital certificate is generated that contains information relating tothe firmware 210. At 230, a hash value is generated for the firmwareimage of 210. At 240, a hash value is determined and created for thecertificate generated at 220. At 250, the hash values are encrypted witha private key to create a signature. At 260, signatures are appended tothe certificate 220, where the certificates are now considered signed.

In general, the firmware signature mechanism as illustrated in theprocess 200 can be summarized as follows:

-   -   A public/private key pair can be generated using secure means or        components. The private key is used in creating the digital        signature. The public key is used by modules in decrypting the        signature.    -   As part of the build procedure, the firmware image is run        through an e.g., SHA-1, SHA-2, MD5, and so forth algorithm to        generate a hash value.    -   The build procedure creates a certificate that includes:        -   The hash value for the firmware image    -    Information to identify the module type or hardware revision        for which the firmware was built    -    A digital signature, which is the hash value of the certificate        itself, encrypted with the RSA algorithm using the private key    -   At firmware update time, the module receives the certificate        containing the firmware's hash value and the certificate digital        signature. The module computes the hash value of the        certificate, decrypts the signature, and compares the hash        values. If the hash values match, then the certificate is valid.        If not, the update is rejected.    -   After receiving the entire firmware image, the module computes        the hash value of the firmware and compares it to the value from        the certificate. If the values don't match, the firmware update        is rejected.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example digital certificate 300. Beforeproceeding, it is noted that the certificate 300 and the examples thatare described herein are merely illustrative in nature and that it is tobe appreciated that more or less fields may be provided in accordancewith the claimed subject matter. As shown, the certificate 300 mayinclude a version field 310, a serial number field 314, a signaturealgorithm identifier 320, an issuer field 324, a validity field 330, asubject field 334, a key field 340, a hash field 344, a vendor ID 350, aproduct type 354, or a product code 360, for example.

In general, the certificate 310 can be formatted according to the X.509standard for PKI certificates, for example. The certificate can beformatted in the DER format of the ASN.1 standard, for example. This isa widely used and accepted format for storing and transmittingcertificates. Example certificates include:

-   -   The distinguished name field will be used to store the module        information, such as module name, family name, and vendor name.        These fields are to be present, yet some may be ignored by the        particular module if the field is not applicable.    -   The public key section includes the module's public key. Note        however that the target module should already have knowledge of        the public key built into its firmware, so the public key in the        certificate will be ignored by the module.    -   Custom extensions are defined to hold the hash value of the        associated firmware, as well as the vendor ID, product code,        product type, firmware revision, and hardware revision. These        fields are generally considered mandatory. Despite these custom        insertions/deletions, these certificates still conform to the        rules of the certificate. The certificate structure (in plain        text) is for example:

Certificate:   Data:  Version: 3  Serial Number: <Serial Number> Signature Algorithm: SHA1WithRSAEncryption  Issuer: = Company Name Validity   Not Before: <Date of Creation>   Not After: <Date ofCreation +100 years>  Subject: CN=<Module Name>, OU=<Module Family>,O=<Vendor>  Subject Public Key Info:   Public Key Algorithm:RSAEncryption   RSA Public Key: (VALUE IGNORED)    Modulus (1024 bit):<module public key modulus>    Exponent: <module public key exponent> X509v3 extensions:   Firmware Hash: <Hash Value>     Vendor Id: <VendorId>     Product Type: <Product Type>     Product Code: <Product Code>    Firmware Major Rev: <Firmware Major Rev>     Firmware Minor Rev:<Firmware Minor Rev>     Hardware Rev String: <Hardware Rev Bitstring>Signature Algorithm: SHA1WithRSAEncryption     <Digital Signature Value>

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example firmware signatureprocess 400. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, themethodology is shown and described as a series of acts, it is to beunderstood and appreciated that the methodologies are not limited by theorder of acts, as some acts may occur in different orders orconcurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. Forexample, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that amethodology could alternatively be represented as a series ofinterrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, notall illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology asdescribed herein.

Proceeding to 410 of FIG. 4, a firmware update utility (or utility)sends a certificate to a target module. At 420, a determination is madeas to whether the certificate passes preliminary checks such asverifying that the certificate is appropriate for the type of modulebeing updated. The vendor id 350, product type 354 and product code 360can be verified at this point. If a problem is detected, the processproceeds to 430 where the update procedure is aborted. If the checkspass at 420, the process proceeds to 440 and sends the firmware binarycorresponding to the certificate instance to the target module. At 450,the target calculates a hash of the firmware binary. At 460, adetermination is made as to whether the binary hash matches the hashvalues computed in the certificate. If not, the process ends at 430. Ifthe hash check matches at 460, the process proceeds to 470, where thetarget calculates a hash for the certificate. At 480, the targetdecrypts the signature using the target's stored key. At 490, adetermination is made as to whether or not the hash value matches thedecrypted signature. If not, the process ends at 430. If the hashmatches the signature at 490, the firmware is declared valid and thefirmware update is completed at 494.

Referring to FIG. 5, an example firmware integrity component 500 isprovided. At 510 cryptographic hashing is provided. Generally, acryptographic hash function is a one-way mathematical function thattakes a block of data as input and produces a fixed size string of bytesas output. The output of a hash function is sometimes called a “messagedigest”, a “hash value”, a “checksum”, or just a “hash”. Examples ofhash functions are MD5 and SHA-1 or SHA-2, for example. A suitable hashfunction will produce a relatively unique hash value from which it isinfeasible to determine the original message. The hash value is a fixedlength, which is often (but not necessarily) shorter than the originalpiece of data. As a result, a hash value is in general not unique to agiven message, since the set of possible messages is often far largerthan the set of possible hashes. Two pieces of data which are differentyet yield the same hash are referred to as a collision in the hashfunction. The more difficult collisions are to generate, the strongerthe hash function is (collisions would only be generated by brute forcewith an ideal hash function).

At 520, encryption refers to a process of scrambling data in such a waythat only someone knowing secret information (e.g., a “key”) can obtainthe original data. In public key encryption, keys exist in pairs. Thepublic key is published and known to the public, whereas the private keyis kept secret and only known to those claiming a particular identity. Amessage encoded with one of the keys can only be decoded with thecorresponding key. For example, if a private key is used to encrypt apiece of data, then only the corresponding public key can be used todecrypt that data. RSA is an example of a public key encryptionalgorithm but other algorithms are possible.

At 530, a digital signature is an application of cryptography to ensurethat a message (or document) has been sent by the identified sender. Adigital signature typically involves the sender encrypting a hash of themessage with the sender's private key. The receiver then decrypts thesignature with the sender's public key. If the signature cansuccessfully be decrypted (i.e., if the decrypted hash value matches themessage hash value), then the receiver can be sure that the sender isthe author of the message. An example of a standard digital signaturesystem is the Digital Signature Standard (DSS).

FIG. 6 illustrates an example key management and signature generationprocess. Proper key management and support for signature generation isessential to ensure the robustness of the firmware integrity mechanism.The general requirements for key management and signature generation arelisted below:

At 610, a mechanism for public/private key generation is provided. Inorder to support digitally signed firmware, a mechanism is needed togenerate public/private key pairs, and then manage restricted access tothe private keys. In order to maintain the integrity of the signature,private keys should be accessible only by a very small number ofauthorized users. At 620, a determination of whether there is a singlepublic/private key pair for all, or per family of module is considered.At 630, as part of the firmware build process, a mechanism is employedfor generating a signed certificate using the appropriate private key.Access to the signing mechanism should be restricted to authorizedusers, and also create an audit log. This is to prevent unauthorizedcreation of signed fraudulent or unauthorized firmware that could thenbe distributed outside of a desired domain. At 640, an alternativesolution would be a software package that is able to generate key pairsfor authorized users, and then produces signed certificates for a givenkey pair and certificate content. It is expected that the infrastructurefor generating key pairs and signed certificates will be shared acrossoperating units of a business for example.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example build procedure 700 for generatingseparate binary files and certificates. It is noted that the firmwarebuild procedure can be specific to a module's build environment. It isnot required that all modules follow the exact same build procedure. Thefollowing shows the basic steps in an example build procedure 700 inorder to support firmware signing. At 710, the build procedure produces(at least) 2 files: one file for the firmware image and another for thecertificate. Each file generally corresponds to an instance. Usingseparate instances makes it possible to allow module downgrading toprevious (non-signed) firmware revisions. In general, each firmwarebinary corresponds to a firmware component (e.g., boot, runtime, filesystem, and so forth). Each firmware binary/certificate pair are thenassociated. Thus, each firmware binary/certificate pair can beassociated via a defined mechanism such as file name or file identifier,for example.

At 720, some modules have more than one file instance for firmware. Inthis case, each firmware instance has a corresponding certificate. At730, when built, the firmware image is run through the SHA-1 algorithm(or comparable type) to generate a hash value for the firmware image. At740, the build procedure creates the certificate that includes:

-   -   The hash value for the firmware image    -   Information to identify the module type for which the firmware        was built:    -   Vendor ID, Product Type, Product Code, target Hardware Revision        (if any), firmware revision being built.    -   Modules that use a single firmware image for multiple product        codes (same firmware, different hardware) should select a single        product code for the purposes of the certificate.

At 750, the certificate (not including the Digital Signature field) isthen run through the SHA-1 algorithm (or comparable type) to generate ahash value for the certificate. At 760, the digital signature is thencreated, per the algorithm described above and appended to thecertificate. At 770, the build procedure then creates a script file foruse with a software utility for updating modules.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example firmware update procedure 800. Thefollowing describes the operation of an example firmware updateprocedure, assuming the module has sufficient RAM to hold the incomingfirmware image. At 810, the module first receives the updatecertificate. The certificate should at least be minimally checked forthe proper vendor id, product type, product code, and so forth. If themodule has sufficient processing capability, the certificate signatureshould also be checked including:

-   -   Decrypt the signature using the RSA public key to obtain the        original hash value.    -   Compute the hash value for the certificate (not including the        signature field).    -   Compare the hash value to that which was in the signature. If        the values do not compare, the firmware update is rejected.

If the module does not have sufficient processing power to perform theabove steps, such that software utility would time out, then theverification of the certificate can be performed at the end of theupdate, before burning flash. At 820, if the certificate passes theinitial checks, it is stored in RAM. At 830, the module next receivesthe firmware image, which is read into RAM. At 840, when the firmwareimage is received, the module performs the following to verify theintegrity of the firmware image:

-   -   If not performed previously, decrypt the certificate signature,        compute its hash value and compare to the original hash value in        the signature.    -   Compute the hash value of the firmware image and compare to that        which is stored in the certificate. If the values do not match,        reject the update as invalid.    -   The firmware image can then be written to flash.    -   It is desirable to also write the certificate to flash, since it        could potentially be used to verify firmware integrity at        startup (for those modules with sufficient compute power).

At 850, the above steps (810-840) are performed for each instance thatis part of the module's build.

It is noted that as used in this application, terms such as “component,”“module,” “system,” and the like are intended to refer to acomputer-related, electro-mechanical entity or both, either hardware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software in executionas applied to an automation system for industrial control. For example,a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on aprocessor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,a program and a computer. By way of illustration, both an applicationrunning on a server and the server can be components. One or morecomponents may reside within a process or thread of execution and acomponent may be localized on one computer or distributed between two ormore computers, industrial controllers, or modules communicatingtherewith.

The subject matter as described above includes various exemplaryaspects. However, it should be appreciated that it is not possible todescribe every conceivable component or methodology for purposes ofdescribing these aspects. One of ordinary skill in the art may recognizethat further combinations or permutations may be possible. Variousmethodologies or architectures may be employed to implement the subjectinvention, modifications, variations, or equivalents thereof.Accordingly, all such implementations of the aspects described hereinare intended to embrace the scope and spirit of subject claims.Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in eitherthe detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising”is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

1. A method for installing embedded firmware, comprising: generating oneor more firmware file instances; generating one or more digitalcertificate instances that are separate instances from the firmware fileinstances; and associating the one or more digital certificate instanceswith the one or more firmware file instances.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising loading the digital certificate instances from a toolthat processes the digital certificate instances in the same manner asthe firmware file instances.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising employing a secure boot load tool to allow signature unawarefirmware to be securely loaded.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising employing feedback mechanisms to ensure that a user hasphysical access to a module in order to update signature unawarefirmware.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising loadingsignature-aware modules with unsigned firmware.
 6. The method of claim5, further comprising employing feedback mechanisms to ensure that auser has physical access to a module in order to update signatureunsigned firmware.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprisingassociating separate certificates with multiple binaries in order tosign different portions of components including firmware or userprograms.
 8. The method of claim 1, the certificate includes a componentto identify one or more hardware revisions supported by signed firmware.9. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating a certificate forunmodified firmware and verifying firmware integrity via an update tool.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising running older versions offirmware through a signing utility and verifying at least one signatureagainst a binary before loading.
 11. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising employing a proxy module to run the signing utility or verifythe at least one signature.
 12. A software tool for generating firmwaresignatures, comprising: a code generator to produce one or more binaryfile instances; a certificate component to generate one or more digitalcertificate instances that are separate instances from the binary fileinstances, where at least one digital certificate instance is generatedfor each binary file instance generated; and a platform component tolink the one or more digital certificate instances with the one or morefirmware file instances to facilitate updating industrial control modulefirmware in a secure manner.
 13. The software tool of claim 12, theindustrial control module firmware is associated with a controller, acommunications module, an input/output module, or a bridge module. 14.The software tool of claim 12, further comprising a component to loadthe digital certificate instances and the binary file instancesaccording to the same download process.
 15. The software tool of claim12, further comprising a secure boot load component to allow signatureunaware firmware to be securely loaded.
 16. The software tool of claim12, further comprising a feedback mechanism to ensure that a user hasphysical access to a module in order to update signature unawarefirmware.
 17. The software tool of claim 12, further comprising acomponent to load signature-aware modules with unsigned firmware. 18.The software tool of claim 17, further comprising a feedback mechanismto ensure that a user has physical access to a module in order to updatesignature unsigned firmware.
 19. A firmware updating system, comprising:means for generating one or more image file instances; means forgenerating one or more digital certificate instances that are separateinstances from the image file instances; and means for associating theone or more digital certificate instances with the one or more firmwarefile instances to facilitate updating signature-unaware modules withsignature-aware firmware or to facilitate updating signature-awaremodules with signature-unaware firmware.
 20. The firmware updatingsystem of claim 19, further comprising one or more feedback componentsto facilitate that a firmware update is performed locally.